


Baby Daddy

by omgjasminesimone



Category: Platinum (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 18:03:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20970758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omgjasminesimone/pseuds/omgjasminesimone
Summary: Raleigh writes a new song, probably the most important one of his career.





	1. Chapter 1

“Raleigh! Raleigh! Look to your left please!” The paparazzi yells as Raleigh walks the red carpet. Raleigh obliges, giving his signature smirk as dozens of cameras flash.

“Raleigh, Univision!” An attractive female reporter yells out, beckoning him towards her and the waiting camera, red light indicating it’s a live shot.

Raleigh approaches, smiling charmingly and shaking her hand. “Hola.” He greets.

She smiles. “Mucho gusto.” She greets with an accent that indicates she’s not a native Spanish speaker. She slips back into English. Raleigh assumes they’ll Spanish subtitle the rest of the interview. “You’re up for several awards tonight here at the Latin Billboard Awards. The public reaction to your latest album, Te Extraño, has been very positive. How does it feel?” The pretty blonde asks, raising the microphone towards him.

“Increíble.” He responds, switching back to English to elaborate. “It was a very personal album, so to have it resonate with so many people and become so critically acclaimed means a lot to me.”

“I listened to the album and loved it.” The reporter praises.

“Muchas gracias.” Raleigh replies, briefly exchanging a smile with his manager as he catches up to him on the red carpet, standing behind him diligently.

“The album came out a few months after your very public breakup with upcomer Cadence Dorian. It’s assumed that the songs are about her.” She continues.

Raleigh shrugs, trying to keep an air of mystery. “I’m inspired by all kinds of things.” He answers vaguely.

“Do you have any opinion on Cadence’s pregnancy? She seems to have gotten pregnant very soon after you guys broke up, were you upset with how fast she moved on? Any idea who the father is?” She asks, practically shoving the microphone into his face.

Raleigh frowns, about to retort but then his manager tactfully leads him away. “Sorry, Mr. Carrera is wanted inside!” His manager, Juan, apologizes over his shoulder as they head away from the reporters.

“I thought you made it clear that Cadence’s pregnancy is off limits for interviews.” Raleigh hisses, trying to school his irritated expression for the many cameras still flashing.

“I did. But you know these reporters don’t listen. Just focus on the music, tease the new song premiere.” Juan responds.

Raleigh is still irritated, but he follows his manager’s instructions, getting through the rest of the interviews. He mentions the free performance he’s giving tomorrow, where he will debut his new song, Phoenix.

Raleigh finally makes it through the entire red carpet, sinking into his seat in the theater. He prepares himself for another long award show night. These things are much more fun with a date. He finds himself missing Cadence. They used to pass the time at award shows guessing over-unders on how long the acceptance speeches would be, laughing at the over dramatic winners who thanked literally everyone they had ever met.

His label had wanted him to take Jaylen as his date tonight, to sell a story line that he was finally over the heartbreak channeled in Te Extraño and ready to move on from Cadence. He had refused, opting to go solo instead. He was done with the stupid fake show biz relationships.

Raleigh spends most of the show writing a new song in his head. He pulls out his phone to write up some of the lyrics in his notes before he forgets. He’s so focused he misses his big category being announced, only becoming aware that the camera has panned to him when his manager elbows him.

Raleigh looks up from his phone, winking into the camera as his fans in the theater go wild, high pitched screams filling the air before the camera pans away from him to the next nominee.

“And the winner for favorite male singer goes to…Raleigh Carrera!” The announcer exclaims.

Raleigh smiles as the audience applauds, exchanging a quick hug with Juan. As Raleigh approaches the stage a voice over comes over the speaker, announcing he has also won favorite R&B song for ‘The Real Thing’ and favorite album for ‘Te Extraño’.

Raleigh gives a short acceptance speech, thanking his fans and his label. “I’d also like to thank the inspiration for this album, I miss you every second you’re not around.” He concludes, raising the award triumphantly before exiting stage right.

Raleigh has to give more interviews following his win, and then has to return to the stage for a medley performance with some of his label mates. After a late night meeting with his management team, It’s almost 2 AM before he’s finally able to leave, hopping into a label provided limo and heading back to his high rise apartment on the upper west side.

When he opens the door, he’s surprised to see Cadence in the living room, softly swaying to music playing only in her head as she cradles her baby bump. She’s almost 7 months along now. Her closed eyes open as she hears the door click closed. “Congratulations.” She says with a smile.

“Why are you up?” He asks, wrapping her in his arms. He leans down to kiss her, parting her lips to slip his tongue into the familiar warmth of her mouth.

She pulls away for air, resting her head on his chest. “Your daughter doesn’t want me to sleep. She’s been kicking like crazy.”

Raleigh crouches down so he’s eye level with Cadence’s pregnant belly. He lifts his borrowed shirt to expose her bare skin. “Young lady, your mother doesn’t appreciate your behavior.” He tries to say sternly before kissing her belly softly, lips lingering on her skin.

A month after their staged break up, they’d found out Cadence was pregnant. Raleigh was surprised by his feelings at the news. He found that he was happy, not terrified. He wanted this baby, he wanted a life with Cadence, he wanted something real.

Cadence hadn’t been as happy. She had shed a lot of tears over the situation. They didn’t know each other well yet, the timing was horrible with her just starting her career, the timing was also horrible because of their very recent, very public, dramatic breakup. How could they explain this without exposing that the whole relationship had been staged before becoming very real to them? Her label didn’t want her to reveal Raleigh was the father just yet, insisting a big reveal after the baby was born would be better once they found they couldn’t convince her to terminate the pregnancy.

Raleigh hated this plan. He hated the thought of his newborn daughter gracing some magazine’s cover, he hated the things the tabloids were saying about Cadence. He’d personally seen a tabloid with ‘Cadence needs paternity test to determine who fathered her baby?!?! America’s Sweetheart not so sweet after all!’ at a subway kiosk. On an airplane, a magazine in his seat back asked ‘Did infidelity, on HER part, end Cadleigh?’ (He hated the couple name the media had bestowed on them.)

He’d have told everyone the truth already if Cadence wasn’t so dead set against it. She felt like she had already disappointed her label enough with the unplanned pregnancy, she wanted to do as she was told and not cause any more waves.

Cadence runs her hands through his dark curls as he trails kisses over her belly. “I saw your speech.” She says softly. She smirks. “You’re welcome for all the inspiration.”

“Who knew loving you would be so great for me creatively? I meant every word you know. I missed you tonight. Hell, I miss you when you wake up first and go to the kitchen without me.” Raleigh gets back to his feet, gripping Cadence’s hand. “Let’s go to bed baby. Maybe she’ll stop kicking now that Daddy is home.”

After breakfast the next morning, Raleigh throws the dishes into the dish washer and follows the sound of music to Cadence out in the living room. He takes a seat beside her on the couch.

“You’re coming tonight, right?” Raleigh asks, watching as Cadence strums on a guitar. She’s basically become a recluse since she’s become visibly pregnant. Walking outside and having dozens of paparazzi bombard her about the identity of her baby’s father is exhausting, plus she’s not supposed to be at Raleigh’s place, so she has to sneak in and out undetected by the press.

“I don’t know. It might be easier if I just stay here. Will you have Fiona record it for me? I want to hear this mysterious song you refuse to sing for me.” Cadence requests.

Raleigh shakes his head. “If you want to hear Phoenix, you have to come. Come on, I’m sure getting out of the house would be good for you. It can be date night.”

“Secret date night.” Cadence corrects, lowering the guitar to the floor and gripping her rounded stomach protectively.

“We’re not going to be a secret forever.” Raleigh promises, taking Cadence into his arms as they sit on the couch.

Cadence returns his embrace, breathing in his distinctive comforting scent. “If it’s important to you, I’ll come.” She assures.

Raleigh grins, capturing her lips. “Thank you mi amor.”

Several hours later, the crowd goes wild as Raleigh comes into view, offering waves and an appreciative head nod as the cheers continue. Central Park is filled with fans as far as his eyes can see. And all this just from a couple of mentions of the event last night, and a tweet he sent out this morning.

“Thank you guys for coming out tonight.” Raleigh says into the microphone. His fans cheer as he takes a seat at the keyboard. He takes his phone out when It vibrates. It’s a text from his beloved.

Cadence: I made it! xoxo

Raleigh looks towards the curtain, where Cadence waves at him. She’s arrived with Fiona, and they’re standing by Juan in the wings. Raleigh smiles at her. He’s about to put his phone away and start playing Phoenix, but his phone lights up with a Google Alert. He only gets alerts for one thing, Cadence Dorian stories.

The story links to twitter, where fans managed to spot Cadence as she crept up towards the stage, despite her disguise of sunglasses and a baggy sweatshirt. Raleigh glances at the tweets, his smile slowly being replaced with a frown.

‘Cadence is here. Probably to beg Raleigh to take her back and raise some bastard baby that’s not even his. Could she be any more pathetic?’ Reads one, accompanied by a blurry shot of Cadence and Fiona.

The other tweets are all of the same vein, berating Cadence, calling her a has been, body shaming her while she’s pregnant. Raleigh slowly slips his phone into his pocket, having read enough. He knows what he’s going to do now.

“I know you guys were expecting Phoenix tonight, and I might still do that one. But I have a newer song I’ve been working on actually. I think I’ll play that one first.” He looks towards Juan, who looks panicked about him going off script. “It’s called Baby Daddy.” He reveals, looking into Cadence’s surprised eyes.

Raleigh starts playing a slow R&B melody, fingers flying effortlessly over the keyboard. He leans towards the microphone, starting to sing along with the melody, eyes closed as the camera zooms in on him.

‘It’s been almost a year now, since you came into my life.

When I saw you in that gala gown, I knew someday you would be my wife

Before you, I never thought I’d want that. I thought I wanted to be free

But when I’m with you baby, there’s nowhere on this Earth I’d rather be.’

The music swells as Raleigh presses hard on the keyboard, speeding up the tempo. He looks to Cadence, who has tears welling in her eyes as she listens.

‘I don’t want to be just your baby daddy, we could be so much more.

I don’t want to be just you baby daddy, I want you for richer or poor-er

I can’t just be your baby daddy, that will never be enough

Because I’m so in love.’

Raleigh stands from the keyboard, and his band quickly fills in, picking up on the melody he was just playing. Raleigh walks towards the backstage wing as he sings ad libs. Fiona and Juan are glaring at him, but Cadence is smiling, and that’s all he cares about.

He grips her hand, pulling her back out on stage with him. The audience applauds, their fickle nature immediately turning them back to Cadence’s side despite all the vitriol they were just spouting online.

Raleigh sings more gently as he reaches the final refrain, stroking Cadence’s hand with his thumb absentmindedly.

‘It’s been almost a year now, since you came and changed my life.

We’re having a baby, we’ve created another life.

I can’t be just your baby daddy, I want everything

Who knew this is what loving you would bring.’

Raleigh drops to one knee, pulling a velvet box from the pocket of his leather jacket. He’s been carrying it around for almost a month now, waiting for the right moment.

“Cadence Dorian, will you marry me?” Raleigh asks

Cadence nods wordlessly, speechless as she falls into his arms and kisses him passionately. Cameras flash, and he smirks, reminded of the first time they publicly made out in a park.

He gets back to his feet, Cadence still wrapped in his arms. He looks over her shoulder out into the audience.

“In case it was unclear, I’m the father of Cadence’s baby. We never actually broke up, because what you guys knew about wasn’t a real relationship. I can’t even explain this to you because it’s so stupid, but managers set up fake relationships all the time for publicity. While we fake dated, we fell for each other in real life. And now we’re getting married.” Raleigh explains. There’s shocked silence for a moment, before the audience starts to applaud, hooting and hollering their approval of the union.

Cadence pulls him into another kiss, and he wipes at the happy tears trailing down her cheeks with his rough thumbs. He pulls away, placing a final kiss to her forehead. “Do you guys still want to hear Phoenix?” He asks, and the audience indicates that they definitely do. “You want to accompany me on the guitar babe?” Raleigh asks, and Cadence nods. His usual guitarist happily hands over his guitar as Cadence thanks him with a smile.

Raleigh retakes his seat at the keyboard. “And a one, and a two, and a three…”

‘Phoenix’ is well received by the crowd, and Raleigh and Cadence leave the stage to uproarious applause. The newly engaged pair is quickly approached by their management.

“It was all my idea. Don’t be mad at Cadence.” Raleigh pleads when Fiona opens her mouth to say something.

“Mad? I’m not mad! You guys are trending number one on twitter! This is amazing publicity!” Fiona exclaims.

Cadence raises a perfectly tweezed brow. “You’re not mad about the whole exposure of management orchestrated fake relationships?”

Fiona scoffs. “Oh please, as if everyone didn’t already know about that.”

“So, we’re cool?” Raleigh asks meekly, hand resting on his unborn daughter for comfort.

“You still need to learn how to follow directions.” Juan barks. “But I guess all is well that ends well. There’s no way the magazine cover would have generated more publicity than this stunt you just pulled. I’m not beyond admitting when I’m wrong.” Juan finishes.

“And now we get to capitalize on a celebrity wedding! I’m thinking we wait until after the baby so Cadence has time to get back in shape, we could maybe make a reality show out of it, Cadleigh gets married? That’s a working title, I’ll get back to you when I have something more concrete….” Fiona drones on, but Raleigh and Cadence are no longer listening.

They smile at each other lovingly as Raleigh rubs her belly, excited about all that is to come.


	2. Baby Daddy Chronicles (Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adventures of Raleigh, Cadence, and their growing family.

Gym  
Raleigh stretches in the queen bed, searching for Cadence’s warm body beside him. He slowly opens his brown eyes, realizing she’s not there. He rolls over, looking at the clock. 6:30 AM. Cadence is probably on her way to the gym.

She’d given birth to their daughter four months ago, and she’d been hitting the gym like a maniac ever since. She is almost back to her pre baby weight, just three stubborn pounds to go.

Raleigh thinks she looks amazing. She’s more toned than ever, and muscle weighs more than fat. That’s where the three pounds are coming from. He keeps trying to tell her that, but she’s hyper focused on the number.

All he can do is show her how great he thinks she looks. Which he does, almost every night since the doctor gave them the green light to be intimate again two months ago.

Their bedroom door opens, and his wife walks in with their infant in her arms. Cadence is dressed in leggings and a tank top for the gym.

They’d gotten legally married before Magdalena was born (no one was going to call his daughter a bastard), but their wedding ceremony is tomorrow. They’d scaled it way down from what Fiona wanted, nixing the reality show idea. Fiona had to beg to get them to agree to allow their professional videographer to release snippets in an exclusive deal with E! news.

“Alright, she’s fed, she’s burped, and she’s changed into a fresh diaper.” Cadence announces, lying their wiggling bundle of joy onto the bed beside him.

Raleigh wraps an arm around Magdalena, pulling her towards him. He nuzzles her, enjoying the scent of the organic lavender baby lotion Cadence buys from the farmer’s market every other weekend. Magdalena gurgles happily and smiles at him. She just started smiling last month. Every time, it melts his heart. “Buenos días mi corazon.” He greets his daughter lovingly.

Cadence crawls onto the bed, planting a big kiss to Magdalena’s cheek. “Bye bye Angel, Mommy loves you!”

Cadence starts to get up, heading toward the door. “And where’s my kiss?” Raleigh complains.

Cadence rolls her eyes, but obliges anyway, crawling back into the bed and giving him a chaste kiss.

Raleigh grips the back of her neck, deepening the kiss. Several moments pass before Cadence manages to pull herself away. He tries to pull her back, but she slips away. “Stop it, I have to get to the gym.” Cadence admonishes, heading for the door once again.

“Bye Sexy, Daddy loves you!” Raleigh calls after her.

Album Cover  
Raleigh finally arrives to the photography studio where they’ll be shooting the cover of his latest album, ‘Legacy’. He holds Magdalena with one arm, the other arm supporting her diaper bag.

Since Magdalena looks just like him, (“But a prettier version”, Cadence always points out when someone comments on the resemblance) he pitched the label the idea of turning her into mini Raleigh for the shoot. They all thought it was a great idea. Raleigh had then insisted Magdalena be compensated for her time and image, and the label ultimately had to agree to that as well. He was going to put the money into a bank account in her name.

Raleigh smiles at Fatima, his longtime hair and makeup (very light makeup, Raleigh’s not trying to look like a K-pop star) stylist.

“You’re late.” Fatima complains, putting her phone down on the makeup counter.

“Not my fault. You don’t wake Magdalena from her mid-morning nap. You wait until she’s good and ready to get up, trust me.” Raleigh insists.

Fatima approaches, arms raised towards Raleigh in a ‘gimme’ gesture. He hands over the toddler, and Fatima cuddles her.

“You’re lucky you’re so cute, you tiny tyrant.” Fatima coos.

“No!” Magdalena exclaims joyfully.

“No, you’re not cute?” Zadie asks, approaching from the other room with some baby outfits to try on Magdalena.

“No is her favorite word lately.” Raleigh explains.

“No!” Magdalena repeats.

“So, Magdalena is going into the family business now? In 16 years can I expect to see her on tour?” Fatima asks.

Raleigh scoffs. “Yeah right. Lena is a genius. You know most 18-month-olds know 20 words? Lena knows 35. And 6 in Spanish! She’s going to be a doctor, or a scientist, or whatever the hell it is smart people do.” Raleigh brags.

“What Spanish words does she know?” Zadie asks, taking the toddler from Fatima to dress her.

“Well, no is also no in Spanish. And she knows comida, gracias, por favor, padre, and sí. Oh yeah! And I taught her a new one last week. Magdalena, besito.” Raleigh says, leaning towards his daughter with his lips puckered.

She gives him a little kiss, grinning at him when she pulls away.

“Okay, that’s adorable. I want one too. Besito Lena!” Fatima chimes, leaning forward for her kiss.

“Me too! Beso Magdalena.” Zadie gets her kiss as well. Zadie smiles. “I could do this all day, but we should probably get these pictures at some point.” Zadie points out.

Half an hour later, the transformation is complete. Covered in temporary tattoos and fake replicas of his piercings, the resemblance between father and daughter is truly uncanny.

“This is too funny. I’ve got to get a picture for Cadence.” Raleigh pulls out his phone.

“Lena, look at papi and smile!” Raleigh instructs, snapping a portrait mode photo on his new iPhone. He sends the picture to Cadence as the photographer gets Magdalena situated for the shoot.

Cadence texts back almost immediately.

Wifey: 😂😂 that’s hilarious, but don’t give her any ideas with all those tattoos!

Spanish  
“Cerrar. To close. Cierra la puerta.” Cadence reads from the flashcard, sitting criss-cross apple sauce on their living room floor with 3-year-old Magdalena in her lap.

“Ce-erre-ar.” Raleigh corrects from the kitchen, rolling the r with Spanish fluency, unlike Cadence’s terrible pronunciation. He puts the lid over the rice pan, moving to take the chicken off the heat.

“Terreno, land. Vivo en el terreno.” Cadence reads from the next flashcard, not rolling the r again.

Despite legally taking his last name, she can’t even pronounce it correctly. Always introducing herself as Cadence Car-Air-Ah, mangling the double r. Luckily for her, she’s famous so she doesn’t have to tell people her name often. 

“Babe, why don’t you just put on Dora the Explorer for her? You’re teaching her wrong, and her primos en Puerto Rico are never going to let her live it down if she speaks Spanish like a gringa. Not to mention that my sisters would disown me.” Raleigh calls.

Cadence frowns, reading the next Spanish word quietly so Raleigh can’t criticize. “But I want to learn how to speak Spanish with her. When we go to Puerto Rico next month, I want to be able to communicate with your abuela. I want your family to know that your heritage is important to me.”

“The fact that you agreed to name our daughter Magdalena Guadalupe Carrera got that point across pretty effectively Cadence.” Raleigh reminds her, walking into the living room and sitting on the floor with his family.

Cadence ignores that valid point. “Erre. Er-re.” She struggles, trying to pronounce it like Raleigh does. “Ughh, why is it so hard to roll an r?!” Cadence complains.

“You need to roll your tongue. Like this, E-rr-e.” Raleigh demonstrates.

“I can’t roll my tongue.” Cadence replies.

“Yes, you can, you roll your tongue in my mouth sometimes.” Raleigh insists.

Magdalena pushes herself off her mother’s lap. “I’m going to go use the potty.” Magdalena announces before heading out of the room.

“Do you need help?” Raleigh asks.

“No, I’m a big girl! I can do it!” Magdalena retorts.

“And in Spanish?” Raleigh asks just before Magdalena is out of earshot.

Her tiny head pokes back into the living room, “Puedo hacerlo!” She responds before leaving the room again.

Raleigh smiles. That’s his girl. He turns his attention back to his other girl. “Come here.” He pats his lap.

Cadence crawls over, straddling him. Raleigh’s hands run up her bare thighs, stopping at the hem of her denim shorts. He leans up, and she leans down slightly, their lips connecting. Raleigh parts his lips, and Cadence follows suit, allowing his tongue to slip into her mouth.

He moves one hand to the back of her neck, pulling her closer as he rolls his tongue in her mouth. She lets out an appreciative hum. He pulls away slightly, trailing kisses down her neck as her nails rake down his back under his t-shirt.

“Did you feel that?” He asks.

She grinds against his rapidly hardening manhood, gripping his hair and bringing his lips back to her’s. “That?” She asks softly, speaking against his lips.

Raleigh chuckles. “No, not that you tease. This.” He kisses her again, rolling his tongue against her’s, making sure she can feel the motion. “Carrera.” He pronounces when he pulls away, exaggerating the erre sound.

“Carrera.” She repeats, rolling her tongue. Her pronunciation isn’t perfect, but it’s better than before. He quickly captures her lips again, hands tangling in her hair.

A tiny hand starts tugging on his shirt. “Daddy, tengo hambre.” Magdalena interrupts, back from the bathroom unbeknownst to the happily married pair.

“Tienes hambre? Ahorita? Right now?” He translates when Magdalena looks at him blankly.

Magdalena nods. “I want arroz con pollo!” She demands.

“Right this minute? Mommy and I were about to make you a little brother or sister.”

Cadence swats at him, leaving his lap and standing up. “You know how hard I’ve been working out to get ready for this U.S. tour. You are not knocking me up anytime soon.” Cadence insists.

Raleigh leans back on his hands, smirking up at her. “You shouldn’t look so damn good if you want me to not get you pregnant.”

Cadence shakes her head, walking towards their bedroom. “And on that note, I’m going to go take my birth control.”

“Birth control isn’t 100% effective!” Raleigh calls after her. He gets to his feet, reaching out his hand for Magdalena. She grips his fingers, swinging their arms happily as they head for the kitchen. “You know Magdalena, Mommy was on birth control when we made you. But when Mommy gets busy, she forgets to take it every day. And then it doesn’t work.” He explains, as if Magdalena has any idea what he’s talking about.

Socialite  
“Cadence! Have you seen this?!” Raleigh demands to know, slamming his phone down on the countertop where Cadence had been enjoying her morning coffee.

‘Magdalena Carrera is legal!!’ is the title of the online article pulled up on the phone, accompanied with a picture. The paparazzi captured their daughter leaving the club on the night of her 18th birthday, dressed provocatively in a sequined top with a low plunging neckline, tight leather shorts, and stilettos. Her brown curls are loose, framing her pretty face as she laughs with her friends in the photo.

Magdalena looks great, although Cadence would appreciate more clothes. Magdalena is a very pretty girl, and she’s amassed quite a Pictagram following. She posts similarly scantily clad photos there, and Raleigh constantly complains about those as well.

“What do you want me to say? She’s an adult now, we can’t tell her how to dress.” Cadence reasons.

“She lives under our roof, she needs to follow our rules.” Raleigh argues.

“You do realize she’s headed to college next month?” Cadence asks.

“And who’s paying her tuition and room and board? That’s our roof too.” Raleigh retorts.

Cadence sighs. “You’ve never been a teenage girl Raleigh. She’s finding herself. Testing her boundaries.”

“I’ve been a teenage boy before. And I know that they’re only after one thing, and that when they see a girl dressed like that, they think they can get it.” Raleigh seethes.

“You used to like when I dressed like that.” Cadence points out.

“You were an adult!” Raleigh insists.

“I was 23. Is that really an adult?” Cadence asks.

“Fine, I’m a hypocrite, whatever. I don’t like my daughter being dressed like that. We need to do something about it.” Raleigh counters.

“If you tell her she’s not allowed to dress like that, I guarantee you she will push back and somehow find something even skimpier.” Cadence informs her husband.

Raleigh seethes, hating this inaction tactic. Both of their eyes go to the phone as it beeps with a Google Alert. 

‘Mateo Carrera, following in his father’s bad boy footsteps?’ In the series of photos, their son Mateo, clad in his middle school uniform, is seen with a group of boys smoking cigarettes by a dumpster, obviously hiding from school administrators.

“For fuck’s sake, really? He’s 12!” Raleigh yells, snatching the phone off the counter to read the story. Cadence crowds against his shoulder, looking as Raleigh scrolls through the story.

Cadence knows it shouldn’t be funny, but she can’t help but laugh as Raleigh progresses through the pictures. Mateo coughing frantically after one puff, spitting up in disgust in the next, aggressively tossing the cigarette to the floor in the final picture of the series.

“Should we punish him by making him smoke another cigarette?” Cadence teases, and Raleigh has to fight to keep his lips from upturning into a smile.

“Why did we have kids again?” Raleigh asks, pocketing his phone and pulling Cadence into his arms.

“I don’t know, you probably wanted to tie me down, I’m quite the catch.” Cadence taunts, rising up onto her tip toes to kiss her husband.


End file.
